If you haven’t read my post on Reversing my PCOS Naturally, I highly recommend you do so. I talk about PUFAs in there. As well as my DIY PUFA Free Body Butter post! In this post I am going to breakdown the ins and outs of PUFAs, what they are and where they can be found when it comes to skin care. A breakdown on PUFAs in food will be for another post. Hang tight.

The important thing to remember is that PUFAs are – in fact – found in skin care products. They aren’t only in our food supply, go figure. Instead of hydrating and nourishing your skin (like expensive as hell products should do), they are pulling oils and creating skin issues due to the oxidized PUFAs found in these products. So, let’s breakdown PUFAs in skin care.

What THE HELL Are PUFAs

This is the question of the year for sure. Everyone is pretty new to this subject. This is a perfect example of what the media does. They want us to know what they want us to know so the fact that very few people talk about PUFAs isn’t surprising. Large companies make a lot of money and save a lot of money by using highly concentrated PUFA-products.

PUFA simply stands for polyunsaturated fatty acid. They are found in basically everything and you can never avoid them so don’t go all crazy on me. The thing we are focusing on is avoiding concentrated and oxidized sources of PUFAs. Okay? These fat molecules are unstable. This means they are easily damaged in the presence of light, heat and oxygen. SO LIFE?! These foods/plants that once contained the perfect amount of vitamin E (to scavenge free radicals) no longer have any vitamin E left in them. Why? Because they have been oxidized! Does this make sense?

When a highly inflammatory food/plant no longer has the perfect addition of the vitamin E God created and put into them, that’s when we run into issues. Since they no longer have vitamin E, they no longer have anything to fight against oxidation. This is what happens when light, heat and air hit these unstable fats.

If you’re confused because all the vitamin E products you see come from PUFA foods.. that’s because they extract the vitamin E from the PUFA food because PUFA foods need vitamin E to prevent them from oxidizing. Make sense? It’s like God knew what he was doing or something?

Me (haha)

When Do PUFAs Wreak Havoc?

As I mentioned above, PUFAs cause issues when they are oxidized. That’s why we avoid concentrated form of PUFAs like nut and seed oils. When we put these skin care products on (even organic ones) and then go out into the sun, they are oxidizing ON OUR SKIN. This looks like free radical and cellular damage. This messes with our hormones (endocrine system) and can even add to the whole “aging” thing. I’m looking at you self-tanners, lotions, mists, sprays, etc. This leads to “sunspots” or the little brown spots on our skin – you know – freckles!

These are simply patches of oxidized skin from either PUFA intake on the inside (i.e. food sources) or PUFA-laden skin care products we use daily. But the problem isn’t only the sun. I said light, air and heat. So if you have lights on in your house, if it’s sunny, if it’s hot out, if there’s air.. you get the point. We just want to avoid products with these cheap filler oils. Instead, we want to focus on saturated oil products. You know, the ones the mainstream media has been demonizing. Can’t trust ’em.

Sources of PUFAs in Skin Care Products

Here is a pretty good list from Kossma Beauty:

• Oils from nuts and seeds
• Rosehip oil
• Seabuckthorn oil
• Almond oil
• Flax seed oil
• Sunflower oil
• Chia seed oil
• Passion fruit oil 
• Grapeseed oil
• Hemp seed oil
• and many more (pretty much anything from a nut or seed with a few exceptions)

There is also corn oil, vegetable oil, soybean oil, canola oil, fish oil, and cod liver oil to name a few. 

When we stick with saturated fats, which are less susceptible to oxidative stress and free radical damage, we setup our skin for success.

The Brand I Stick With – PUFA Free Skin Care

I love the Kossma Beauty Skin care line and my code SIMPL10 gets you 10% off. Her products are all PUFA-free and made with organic and non-oxidized ingredients. Did you know vitamin C serum should NEVER be yellow/orange. It should be clear! I learned that from her Instagram.

They are the world’s first fully saturated skin care line that has your health in mind. Not only are they PUFA-free and fully saturated, they’re also cruelty-free. Who is with me?!

My favorite products are the Pearl Powder, Vitamin C Serum and the Tallow Balm.

I also have a post on creating your own PUFA-Free Body Butter. I used it through my entire pregnancy and walked away without any stretch marks + after my boobs got super gigantic the day after my baby was born and GOT STRETCH MARKS, I rubbed this on there and they went away. Vitamin E is a powerful thing!